


Echoes

by Legume_Shadow



Series: Echoes: A Peacemaker Kurogane/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover [17]
Category: Peacemaker Kurogane, Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Earn Your Semi-Happy Ending, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-15
Updated: 2013-10-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 11:17:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1004795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legume_Shadow/pseuds/Legume_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The epilogue to the series: It's summer, 1878.  Ten years into the Meiji, catch up with the survivors of the Revolution in Kyoto in the aftermath of Shishio Makoto's attack, as they all try to find a small measure of peace in their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Echoes

**Author's Note:**

> First Publishing: AO3, October 2013.

**Epilogue: Echoes**

_Year: Summer 1878_

 

_**Minister Okubou Toshimichi Killed By Rebel Samurai!** _

Susumu stared at the headline of the weeks-old newspaper that sat on the small desk in the corner of his room. Sitting next to that paper was a folded note that looked as if it had been read only once, when compared to the crumpled look of the newspaper. It had to have been mere coincidence that the note arrived at the same day the headline was written, the 14th of May in the western-reckoning, but somehow, Susumu could not shake the feeling that it had not been coincidence.

For weeks, that particular note had sat there, untouched, and despite the temptation to disobey the note, he had done what had been asked. It had not been orders from the Oniwabanshuu, but rather, a personal request from an old friend that he had kept in contact with since the end of the Bakumatsu.

He finally tore his gaze away from the headline and looked down at his hand, which was in a fist and holding a small piece of paper that had been tied to the pigeon that had arrived only an hour before. It had contained a brief message, but it was more than enough to make him relieved. He knew that he should have held no allegiance or loyalty to his former employers, but the fact that most of those who had survived the Bakumatsu were his friends, and that they had survived Shishio Makoto's rebellion gave him something to smile about. However, also contained in the note was a small, brief message about the health of the infamous Hitokiri Battousai, who had been drafted by the government, mainly through former Shinsengumi Third Unit Captain, Saitou Hajime. The Battousai was not waking up from his injuries.

Susumu glanced up at the western mechanical clock that sat alone on the far wall. If he left now, he would arrive at the right time, and do what he needed to do. Putting both the thin sliver of paper and folded note into a pocket, he picked up the small basket and left. Takani Megumi's skills as a doctor were legendary, but with the amount of destruction he was sure that had been rendered to Kyoto in Shishio's madness, they would need more help, and he was more than willing to lend his hand, if not for the chance to see his old comrades and friends again. With Takani already gone to Kyoto only a day ago to help the Battousai, he had taken extra patients that Dr. Genzai had not been able to cope with, and he hoped that the old doctor would forgive him just this once for wanting to go to his own friends' aid.

The walk to his destination was not as far when compared to where some of his other patients lived, but with the Tokyo summer heat and sun beating down, it was still uncomfortable. As he approached the small, modest-looking dojo, he could hear the echoes of a high-pitched, youthful _ki-ai_ of a boy and the crack of a bamboo shinai against another shinai.

“Pardon me!” he called out as he entered the small courtyard to the dojo. “Its, me, Yamazaki.”

A few seconds later, the pounding of feet on the wooden floor of the dojo stopped, as the door slid open and out stepped a man who had his hair up in a short ponytail and was dressed in a simple practice white-gi and hakama. Yamazaki bowed slightly as the man gave him a tired smile, saying, “It is good to see you, Yamazaki-sensei.”

“And you, Shirou-sensei. How are you feeling?”

“A bit tired, but that is about it,” the man honestly said as Susumu reached the walkway and took off his shoes, entering the dojo with a bow. Inside was a child, no older than ten, who was quietly putting the practice equipment away in a corner of the spartan-looking place.

“Yamazaki-sensei!” the boy enthusiastically cried as soon as he had finished with his duties and had turned to see him. “I thought you weren't supposed to come until next week.”

“Actually, that's why I'm here, Yukimura-kun,” he said, turning slightly to the boy. He patted the basket he was carrying and looked up to the boy's instructor, saying, “This might require some explanation. Can we sit somewhere?”

Wordlessly, the man gestured for him to follow and a few minutes later, they were seated in a room that was adjacent to the training hall. “Yukimura-kun, would you kindly please fetch some summer tea for all three of us?”

The young boy obliged his master and scurried out of the room. As soon as the boy was gone, Susumu could not help but snort in laughter before asking, “Page duties?”

“It is all a part of his training, Yamazaki-san,” the man serenely said, giving him a tired smile.

“You do know that his mother would probably have a little too much fun with that, given the fact that the kid has as much enthusiasm as Tetsu had when he had first arrived all those years ago.”

“Possibly, but it does temper his patience.”

“I can adjust the dosage of your medication, if you're feeling tired all the time, Shirou-san,” he said, changing the subject after a moment of just visually observing the man.

“There is no need, Yamazaki-sensei,” the man answered. “I have just not been sleeping well since the headlines told of Minister Okubou's assassination.”

At that moment, the door slid open again and the young boy entered, carrying a tray that had three mugs of cool summer tea in them. The boy served the tea with no fault and settled himself next to his master with Susumu sitting opposite of both of them. Susumu took a sip of his tea before setting it down and composed himself. “I wanted to talk to both of you about some news that I received.”

He pulled out the two pieces of paper and passed both of them to the man first who read through it quickly before passing it on to his student. Far be it that Susumu had compared the boy's enthusiasm to his old friend Tetsu, that the boy merely frowned before handing the pieces of paper back to him. Susumu could see the anger and confusion in the young boy's eyes as he folded the pieces of paper and placed them back in his pocket. “I humbly apologize for having kept this information from both of you, especially you, Yukimura-kun. I owed a great debt to your mother, Yukimura-kun, and thus I honored her wishes in keeping this from you. However, now that the threat of Shishio is over, I'm leaving for Kyoto today. Takani-sensei was called to Kyoto yesterday, as were several more doctors. I intend to go and help them.”

“Is the threat of Shishio Makoto truly quelled?” Shirou asked.

“I hope so,” he truthfully answered. Even though the missive he had received had said that Shishio Makoto was not among the living anymore, years of being a shinobi still made him wary of information that he could not confirm with his own eyes.

“Shishio Makoto was a menace back in the days of the Bakumatsu. I had noticed that the police seemed a bit more on edge than they used to be, so is it safe to assume that Saitou-san had also been sent to Kyoto to help resolve the problem?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. There was another letter that he had received, but chose not to bring it with him to this meeting, since the primary reason here was not because of that informational letter. “Himura Battousai was also sent.”

“If what you had told me is true about Himura-san, then how could one who has sworn not to kill have defeated Shishio-san?” the kenjutsu instructor asked, puzzled.

“I don't know, but that is my intent to find out when I get to Kyoto.”

“I want to go with you, Yamazaki-sensei!” the boy suddenly said. “Kyoto is my home, and if the threat of this Shishio person is done, then I want to make sure my home is safe.”

“Perhaps we should all go,” Shirou gently interrupted. “After all, its been a while since I have traveled.”

Susumu unexpectedly saw a strange resolve in the instructor's eyes, and mentally sighed. Sometimes, his patient had a tendency to be stubborn and would refuse to divulge information until later. He knew that there was no way he could dissuade him from going, and certainly there was also no way he could prevent Shirou's apprentice, Yukimura, from going back to Kyoto – the boy had walked from Kyoto to Tokyo by himself before. “Very well. Let me adjust the medications I have in the basket for you so you can travel.”

“Yukimura-kun,” Shirou said, glancing over at the boy, “please go and pack your things.” Without another word and a bow of respect towards his instructor, the boy left and that was when Susumu heard the kenjutsu instructor quietly say, “I suppose it is time that I let all of them know that I am alive.”

“If we should encounter any trouble on our way to Kyoto, will you be strong enough to fight if we need to?” he asked.

“I think I will be. For the sake of my apprentice, then I will have to be.”

* * *

_A few days later..._

 

“From the rumors, it sounds like there was a bit of trouble near where the Aoiya is,” he said to both of them as the got of the ferry that had taken them upstream from Osaka.

The three of them walked in near-silence as Susumu took the lead, not wanting the boy to get ahead and potentially run into trouble. His own set of short blades and a few throwing knives that he had kept after retiring were well hidden or disguised under his clothes but still easily accessible. On the other hand, Shirou-sensei's sword was being carried in a long box, due to the laws, which made it not that easily accessible, while Yukimura merely had a shinai strapped to his back. The journey down to Kyoto by boat was not that eventful, except for them hearing about the fact that a ship belonging to Shishio Makoto had been successfully sunk and therefore, most local ships had been diverted to the foreign-commercial port in Osaka instead of the usual ferry ports.

That news had given hope to all three of them, but now, with their walk around the city to get to the Aoiya, Susumu's guard was up, but it seemed that many of the citizens were more concerned about the upcoming festivals than of what had happened. A few more turns around familiar street corners of Kyoto, and Susumu abruptly stopped as he saw exactly what had happened that had the rumors circulating around the city.

Nearly the entire block and surrounding buildings had been partially demolished in some shape or form. Through the partially standing buildings, he saw the Aoiya, with part of her walls torn and gone, while the other half of her structure was still standing. _What the hell happened_?

“Okaasan!” he heard the boy cry out, before dashing towards the Aoiya. Susumu broke into a run to chase the boy down, barely aware that Shirou-sensei was doing the same. The two eventually caught up with the boy, but it was only due to the boy gaping at the entrance and seeing people milling about, rebuilding the building and the surroundings.

“Hey! Yuki-kun! You're back early!” a voice cried out, to which Susumu had identified it as Suzuki Ichirou, one of his fellow training-mates from back in the day. The broad-shouldered shinobi appeared at the half-demolished entrance of the Aoiya, carrying a few planks of wood while sporting white bandage wrappings around his head and one of his arms.

“Oh! Its Yuki-kun!” a woman said, this time popping her head out. Susumu faintly recognized her as Yamaguchi Ame, another old friend, though he remembered her as a short-haired woman and not with long hair. “Oh, and Susumu too!” Her head disappeared for a moment back inside the Aoiya before Susumu heard her shout, “Hey, Old Man! We've got a guest here and Susumu's back in town! Yuki-kun's also back!”

“Oh, guests!” Susumu heard Okina say as he saw the old Oniwabanshuu appear at the entrance a few moments later. He couldn't help but take a step forward out of concern as he saw the enormous swath of bandages covering him from head to toe.

However, before the old man could get another word out, it was Yukimura who pounced and asked, “Where's my mother? Is she okay? What happened?”

Faced with a barrage of questions, the old man could only laugh before coughing in pain, though there was a watery smile on his face as he answered, “Young rascals...no patience. Your mother is fine. She at work right now--”

That was all Yukimura needed and he dashed off into the crowds. Susumu shook his head slightly in exasperation. Obviously, the boy knew where his mother worked, but for now, with no sign of any attack or battle, he was not going to chase after the boy in the humid Kyoto summer. However, he did hear the old man grumble, “No patience at all...that scallywag.” The old man returned his attention to the two of them, and he saw Okina narrow his eyes a bit, and knew that the old man recognized who exactly was standing next to him before returning his attention back to Susumu. “Well,” the old man said, “Welcome back to Kyoto, Susumu and--”

“Shirou Kaneyoshi,” he heard the kenjutsu instructor introduce himself, bowing slightly before straightening. “Young Yukimura-kun is my apprentice.”

“Ah, Shirou-sensei, then,” Okina said, nodding. “Well, welcome to Kyoto. Apologies for the state of things here...we had a few rough days in the past week, but its over now, and we're rebuilding. We have some rooms available, though should you wish to find different accommodations for your visit during our city's festivals, there are a few other places on the other side of our beautiful city that I could recommend you to.”

“Actually,” Susumu heard Shirou speak up, “if you would kindly oblige us, we would like to help you rebuild.”

* * *

“Yeah, so he's like this scrawny guy with huge, bat-winged things attached to him and then I go 'blam!', sending him crashing to the ground!”

Susumu listened with mild amusement at the tale that Kamiya Kaoru's apprentice, an eleven-year-old boy called Myoujin Yahiko, was telling about the battle at the Aoiya. Of course, the kid was telling it to Yukimura, who had come back not a half-hour after he had run off, dejected-looking. Yukimura had sulked that he had been turned away at the police department where his mother was working, saying that she was not there and was off investigating something.

“That's neat!”

“You missed a good battle, Susumu,” he heard Kai say, returning his attention to his friend, whom had surprised him when he and his wife had emerged from the depths of the Aoiya after he and Shirou had started to help with the rebuild. It was only after the sinking of Shishio's ship in Osaka did Kai and his wife, living in Osaka, risked returning to the Aoiya to help. Fortunately, their help had not been turned away, and neither it seemed that their former _Okashira_ was inclined to carry out the threat he had made those many years ago.

Susumu had been surprised at the fact that the granddaughter of their _Okashira_ before Aoshi's ascension, had taken up the mantle of being the _Okashira_ of the Oniwabanshuu within hours after Aoshi had defected to Shishio's side. The girl had steel nerves, but he could see that most of the people around the Aoiya were still hesitant to talk about what had happened with Aoshi.

The doctor that had initially patched most of them up after the battle, Takani Megumi, had gone out for part of the day to help some local doctors and was not currently present in the Aoiya. Neither was Aoshi, whom he learned had been going out to a quiet, private place to meditate from sunrise to well after sunset.

He said nothing as he re-wrapped the bandage around Kai's hand, contentedly listening to the near-wild tales that Myoujin was telling. “I left for Kyoto as soon as I got the pigeon about the Old Man and Aoshi,” he quietly said after a moment, as he placed his medical instruments back into the appropriate places of his little pack.

“Hey, Susumu,” Kai whispered, nudging him a bit with an elbow for him to look at who had entered at the far side of the half-demolished inner courtyard of the Aoiya, carrying a few small planks of wood, “does Tetsu know that _he_ is alive?”

“No,” he stated. “It was his choice to not let anyone know and I honored it. It is still his choice, and I will continue to honor it.”

“But...how?” the tall former shinobi asked.

“It was and still is, experimental, Kai,” he answered. “Matsumoto-sensei doesn't know and even I'm not sure how long his current health will last.” Not wanting to talk about his particular patient any longer, he got up and returned his small satchel to the small room he had been given. When he returned downstairs, he walked into the middle of Myoujin describing the incredible techniques that Himura Kenshin's master, Hiko Seijuurou, had pulled off...which explained why half of the block looked like it had been demolished by a giant.

“Ah! Kenshin, you're back!” he heard Kamiya cry out, as she dashed to the entrance, just as he saw a familiar-looking red-headed samurai dressed in drab colors of a hakama and gi, carrying a sword on his side, enter. Bandages were wrapped around the ex-hitokiri's neck and hands, and from his vantage point of being on the stairs, Susumu could see that a thick layer had been wrapped around the entirety of his torso. He had not heard the details of what exactly had gone down at Shishio's hideout at Mount Hiei, but judging from what he saw, he knew that it had to have been brutally near-death for all who had participated in the battle.

“That I am, Kaoru-dono, that I am,” he heard Himura quietly say before seeing the ex-hitokiri's gaze turn up at him.

“We had a couple of visitors stop by and help out while you were gone, Kenshin,” the young woman said, noticing Himura's glance up at him.

“Yamazaki Susumu,” he said, descending the remaining stairs and gave a brief bow to Himura. “I am a doctor from Tokyo. I used to be acquainted with several of these people here and heard about what happened, so I decided to come and see if they were all right.”

Himura said nothing except to nod, though Susumu perceived an odd sense of respect in that nod, as if the former assassin knew something that he didn't know. Strange as it was, he brushed it aside. Himura was no longer an enemy and he was no longer shinobi, therefore, he treated everyone the same, regardless of their past, as per his oath as a doctor.

“Another guest who heard about what happened here and traveled with Yamazaki-san here, has also agreed to help,” Kamiya said, leading Himura into the inn. Susumu followed them, but at a distance, as he saw who had emerged again from the other side of the inn, this time, carrying a bucket of water. “Kenshin, this is Shirou Kaneyoshi, a kenjutsu instructor who lives in Tokyo.”

Susumu saw Himura stiffen a bit and stop, as did Shirou, and it was only a glance back at Himura did Kamiya stop, as Himura said in a neutral tone to the man with the bucket in his hands, “So you've changed your name too, just like Saitou, though last I heard, you died in Edo.”

“I should have, Himura-san, but thanks to the efforts of both Matsumoto-sensei and Yamazaki-sensei, I was fortunate to survive, but only just. It has been ten years, has it not been, Himura-san?” the kenjutsu instructor replied.

“Toba-Fushimi,” Himura curtly answered.

“I come as a friend, Himura-san. Not as an enemy. Please allow me to say this: it is finally an honor to meet you face-to-face without any due course for violence, Himura Kenshin-san.”

“It is also my honor to also meet you under the same circumstances, former Shinsengumi First Unit Captain, Okita Souji,” Himura stated after a few moments of silence.

Susumu could hear a single straw of hay drop in the Aoiya, given the silence that had encompassed the entire place, except for the fact that both Myoujin and Yukimura had dropped the small planks of wood they had been carrying, creating a rather loud clatter to fill the silence. Fortunately, none of those who had heard the admission and revelation stayed in stunned silence, for it was both Himura and Okita who carried on with their own duties like normal, prompting everyone else to return to their own. He could not help but smirk a bit at the sight of the two boys crowding next to each other, whispering their own fascinations at what had just happened and let them be.

It was only later did Susumu realize how on edge both swordsmen had been, even with the neutrally cordial tone both had in their voices, and just how close it almost came to blows.

* * *

Saitou blew out an irritated sigh that was filled with the smoky taste of narcotics from the cigarette that was half-hanging out of his mouth. He had hoped that the paperwork and report that needed to be filled out for this incident with Shishio Makoto would be easy, but unfortunately, complications had arisen in the past days that he and the others of the Kyoto police force had been combing through the wreckage.

One of the problems was the financier of the entire operation. Of course, Shishio's second, Sadojima Houji, had been the one to have organized the logistics and day-to-day operations, but whoever had financed Shishio's operation covered their tracks quite extensively. Even Kyoto's resident spymaster who worked for the police had not been able to find out much information, much to Saitou's annoyance. All the spymaster had found were tracts of paper after paper of dead-end contacts and fronts that seemed to have led to nowhere.

There was also the matter of how much foreign materials had gotten into the country when even the most stringent of regulations on weaponry that the government had instilled after the end of the Satsuma Rebellion. Someone or some organization had moved a lot of the gunpowder and weaponry from the storehouses to Shishio's hideout and to his ship without drawing attention, until the first of many slip-ups that started about six months ago. That particular slip-up had drawn the attention of the government and thus started their silent campaign against Shishio before they grew desperate and turned to Himura Battousai.

He knew that he was coming to an dead end in looking for information, and so was the Kyoto police's spymaster, hence his need to get back to Tokyo soon. There were far more resources there at his disposal and perhaps, if the Kyoto police allowed it, they would let him 'borrow' their spymaster until the case was completely closed. He knew that he could just coerce the Kyoto police to acquiesce to his will, but it was the spymaster who he knew he could not coerce, despite his own influence with the government and police forces.

“Pardon the interruption, Saitou-san, but I had a feeling that you had not yet left Kyoto,” an eerily familiar, yet older-sounding voice said from the door way to his temporary office, causing him to look up from the massive amount of paper scattered across his western desk.

“So you've finally shown yourself to be alive, haven't you, Okita,” he stated, not at all surprised to see his fellow former Shinsengumi standing at the door to the temporary office. “Its about time.”

“You are not surprised,” Okita said, though it was not a question but a fact.

“I passed by your dojo a few years ago,” he said, folding his hands together and laying his arms out across the desk. “I had no need to tell anyone, and you looked like you were in no condition to join the police force, so I didn't bother.”

“You are right, Saitou-san,” the younger man admitted. “I was in no condition to do anything for a while.”

“It seems that despite Yamazaki retiring from being a spy, his habits did not die, hence why you are here, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You missed the party,” Saitou bluntly stated, giving Okita a wolfish grin.

“I heard the fireworks were something to behold,” Okita replied in the same manner. “On the other hand, I also heard you had fun.”

“I had fun proving to the Battousai that his non-killing ways are flawed,” he replied. “Rooster-head was a nuisance, but he proved useful in the end, if not an apt distraction. Shinomori also realized the errors of his ways and finally got it through his thick skull that he was _not_ the strongest.”

“Most of them, except for Himura-san and possibly Shinomori-san believe that you are dead.”

Saitou shrugged, not caring about the opinions of the weak people the Battousai had surrounded himself with. “Let them think whatever they want. A true wolf of Mibu will never die.”

He saw his old comrade nod and fall silent for a long moment before asking in an uncharacteristically hesitant tone, saying, “Saitou-san...I heard that Matsumoto-san works for the police here...do you happen to know where she is?”

“Kyoto police's spymaster is located at the far end of this building,” he said, deciding to oblige his old comrade's request. “If you get lost, just ask for her under her Shinsengumi alias Shinohara Tainoshin.”

* * *

Aya heard footsteps approaching, but felt no ill intent from the presence, and thus remained buried in reading a particular set of notes that had been given to her only hours before from the team that had returned from questioning merchants and shipbuilders in Osaka. If whoever wanted to bother her right now with what was most likely news not related to her current investigation, for the footsteps were not hurried, they would have to wait.

She heard a thunk of a mug being placed on her desk and glanced at it before seeing beyond the mug that it was not one of the junior members of the police force who had brought her a mug of tea. Instead of the usual straight-legged western-looking police uniform that everyone around the building, save her, wore, she saw a dark-colored hakama. She felt her breath leave her as her eyes continued upwards past the light-colored gi, and found herself looking at an older face, but nonetheless, familiar...a little too familiar-looking.

“I am so sorry. Please forgive me,” were the first words out of his mouth.

“You...you're...you died...” she said, somehow managing to get the words out, despite her shock. “No...cure... coughing blood...”

In response to her denial, she saw his hand extend out, as if wanting to prove to her that what she was not seeing was a ghost. The rational side of her thoughts was trying to prevent her from reaching out with her uninjured hand, but the irrational side was goading her to reach out and touch. She stared at the open palm for a very long minute before the irrational side of her won out and she tentatively reached out.

To her surprise and relief, she touched solid flesh, fingers, palm, calloused from years of holding a sword, but then pulled her own hand back. She was quite glad that she was sitting, for she knew that if she had been standing, she might have fainted from shock, possibly re-opening the bandaged gash she had sustained on her head during the battle at the Aoiya a few days ago. “How is it possible?”

“May I sit?” he asked.

“Please,” she said, as he slid the door close to her office and took a seat on the western-styled chair in front of her desk, though clearly, she saw that he was not used to sitting on such a contraption.

“Matsumoto-sensei had been experimenting with several different types of herbal medicine from both the east and west. I was not the only person he was trying to cure. However, with Yamazaki-sensei's help, he found a solution, though both of them and I call it merely temporary, since the others who had been given the treatment that I had have not had as much luck as I have had. I still have the disease and the symptoms are exacerbated during the winter months. It is, however, currently not contagious, but I am not cured. Neither of them know how long it will last.”

The silence that stretched between them was long and awkward, but was broken when he quietly asked, “Are you angry at me?”

“A part of me is, Souji,” she admitted, and it was true.

She saw him sadly nod before saying, “By the time I had regained at least a quarter of my strength, we were already three years into the Meiji. I was and still am living on borrowed time, Aya. I didn't want to get yours or any others' hopes up, which is why I changed my name to Shirou Kaneyoshi. I felt that it was better for all of you to think I was dead than to cause more sadness. Please do not be angry at Yamazaki-sensei; I asked him not to tell anyone. I also hope that in time, you might find it in your heart to forgive what I have done.”

“Souji,” she said, keeping him from standing up and leaving. “Why now?”

“Your letter to Yamazaki-sensei caused him to be worried for everyone here, but he kept your request true. The pigeon message that was sent a few days ago contained better news and he decided to come back and I chose to follow Yamazaki-sensei to Kyoto because I felt that after all that had happened, it was dishonorable for me to continue to hide and live a life of peace while all of you were quelling this threat. In doing so, I chose this path,” he answered.

“You missed the fight,” she said.

“So Saitou-san has told me. If you would allow me a personal question, Aya?” She nodded for him to ask. “The father of your son, did he die during the battle at the Aoiya?”

“Yuki never knew his father,” she replied. “The only thing I told him was that his father had been a great warrior and was supposed to have died in Edo during the final months of the Bakumatsu, succumbing to tuberculosis. Apparently, now though, I just found out that he didn't.”

She saw him sit incredibly still in his chair, as her own revelation washed over him. After her son's first few months in Tokyo, upon his return to Kyoto for a few weeks during the winter months, young Yukimura could not stop talking about how fun it was for him to study under his master, 'Shirou Kaneyoshi'. Of course, it was the combination of Yukimura wanting to leave and go study in Tokyo, along with the rising threat of Shishio Makoto that had caused Aya to send her son to Susumu with the request that perhaps her old friend could help her find a decent kenjutsu instructor in Tokyo to temper her son's impatience. She had also not wanted her son to be caught in a potential war that was brewing in Kyoto. Susumu had written her back saying that he had found an instructor and given her some information about 'Shirou-sensei'. Now, though, the irony was somewhat amusing, but Aya could only see it as fate.

“I didn't know that I was carrying him until the day I gave birth, almost exactly nine months after that night,” she said, breaking the silence. “I had no symptoms and was not showing at all.”

“I should have been there--” he began.

“I thought you were dead, Souji. Please don't blame yourself. Both of us have made so many mistakes in our past with each other,” she said. “It is more than I could have asked for, for you to teach him.”

“Will you tell him?” he hesitatingly asked, almost whispering the question.

“A part of me is still angry at you,” she replied, evading the answer to his question.

“And the other half?”

“Relieved.”

“What will you do now?” he asked.

“Finish looking over these reports and hope that there's information in here that I can use to wrap up this investigation,” she said, glancing back down. She needed time to think, and she hoped that perhaps, when she got back to the Aoiya in the evening, her thoughts would be sorted.

“Then I will leave you in peace.”

She heard him get up, the creak of the wooden chair quite louder than she normally heard it at. The door slid open and then closed and only when she glanced back up, to see that there was no others in the office, did she allow the tears to fall from her eyes.

* * *

Susumu leaned slightly to the side as four children, ranging from the ages of eleven to the youngest at six, ran past him, laughing and carrying half-full buckets of water.

“Hey, don't run too fast with those buckets or you're going to spill the water out!” he heard Tetsu shout at the dwindling forms of the children.

“Yes, papa!” one of the children, the youngest, shouted before giggling some more.

Susumu merely shook his head as he heard his friend's irritated sigh at the actions of his two children, ages eight and six, who had been influenced by the 'competition' brought upon by Myoujin and Yukimura. Tetsu and his wife, Saya, had shown up at the Aoiya only an hour ago, bringing food and some much needed items, such as ledgers. He had kept in infrequent contact with Tetsu since the end of the war, due to his duties as a doctor and the fact that Tetsu and his wife ran a modestly small stationary shop in Kyoto. On the rare occasion did Tetsu travel up to Tokyo to visit and gather supplies that made a port-of-call in Yokohama instead of Osaka, he and his friend caught up on each other's lives. However, he had been careful not to reveal to Tetsu about Okita's status, as per the former Shinsengumi captain's request.

He heard his friend sigh and mutter, “Kids...”

He couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's exasperation over the small kids and asked, “Weren't you like that when you were little?”

“Probably,” Tetsu answered, shrugging.

Before the two could say anything else, Susumu heard the familiar voice of Kai's wife, Hiroko announce near the entrance to the Aoiya, “Ah, Okita-sensei, welcome back!”

“Thank you, Shimada-san,” he heard Okita kindly reply.

He heard Tetsu stop and turned slightly to see surprise written all over his face as his friend slowly turned from where he was, and took hesitant steps towards the entrance. However, Tetsu merely got a few steps in before Okita appeared from the entrance with a withdrawn look on his face. That withdrawn look receded into a more hopeful, but still serious expression as he saw Tetsu standing in the middle of the untouched section of the Aoiya, gaping at him.

“Hello Tetsu-kun,” Okita quietly said.

“Okita-san,” Susumu heard Tetsu whisper before tottering a bit and then unexpectedly, Tetsu launched himself at Okita, fiercely hugging his old mentor and friend.

Susumu took that opportunity to leave the area as he heard the two exchange words of surprise and consolation to each other. He knew and understood just how tumultuous of a mental state Tetsu had been after the chaos of Toba-Fushimi. The fracturing of the Shinsengumi, along with what had happened to his mentor and friend, Okita, and the evacuation of Edo had taken a large toll on the psychological state of Tetsu. He knew that Tetsu had almost cracked when he had been sent down to Hino, unable to participate in the final battle against the Choshuu forces in the short-lived Republic of Ezo during the last few weeks of the Bakumatsu. Adding to that distraught mentality was the fact that he had heard that Hijikata had perished in the final battle. Susumu understood that his old friend had wanted to truly fight and die at his master's side, finally having understood what it was, that he wanted to fight for.

The fact that Tetsu had participated in Saigo Takamori's campaign that ended only about six months ago clearly told Susumu about his friend's state-of-mind – despite everything and building a life with Saya, Tetsu felt hopeless in the new Meiji era. It had only been Saya's love for Tetsu that the man had not entirely given up. Now, with the revelation of the fact that Okita was still alive, Susumu thought that perhaps, his friend would finally be able to calm his restless soul.

He raised his eyes towards the ceiling, as if seeing beyond the wooden planks and clay roof shingles that blocked the sky. After what all of them had been through and surviving the tumultuous times that had gripped the country, perhaps all of them deserved a small measure of peace.

 

~*~*~*~

 

FINI

**Author's Note:**

> First off, historically, yes, Okita Souji did die from TB. Why I kept him alive in this work was a consequence of Susumu still being alive. Susumu is an experimenter with knowledge about poisons (even though that was not his weapon of choice) that were probably as good as or even better than doctors of that age. Using that logic, I figured that he could maybe come up with a temporary solution (not a cure) that could work on certain individuals (like modern-day, real-life treatments of TB with a heavy regimen of antibiotics and other medications). Thus, the reason why Okita Souji is still alive.
> 
> Second, I'd like to thank Shadow Chaser for being an inspiration to me, especially from reading/beta-ing her work, Assassin's Creed: Apotheosis. Your historical research inspired me to go do some of my own, in my favorite historical era to read/learn about.
> 
> Works that inspired this series: Band of Brothers (TV series), Rurouni Kenshin (both live action and anime/manga), Peacemaker Kurogane (anime/manga), When the Last Sword Is Drawn (movie), The Last Samurai (movie), and The Twilight Samurai/Tasogare Seibei (movie).
> 
> Yes, there will be a possible sequel series or story to this. Thanks everyone for reading! Constructive criticisms and feedback are always appreciated!


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